Cafenatics, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

As we were running late for a catch up, I suggested to Mr S that we go to Cafenatics.  Although I have used their catering service several times (great salads, great price but delivery is always late), I had never eaten at a Cafenatics - a chain coffee cafe that's dotted around the CBD.

While I had checked online that there's a Cafenatics in QV, I struggled to think of where it could be.  It wasn't until I walked up to the cafe, that I knew it was there.  

It's so nondescript that I realised that I had walked past this place lots of times but never twigging that that was it.  The interior is decked out in shades of corporate-style warm browns and with simplistic industrial light fixtures.

We arrived towards the end of the lunch hour (about 1.45pm) and I was surprised to see that everything had almost sold out and also that they didn't have any of the yummy salads that they have through their online catering service.  With this rather dismal display of leftover wraps and rolls, I had wanted to go elsewhere, but it was late, we were hungry and we needed to get back to the office chop chop.

Mr S got a latte.

For eating, Mr S snaffled the last satay chicken roti wrap - which was the wrap that I wanted to get.  Going by looks, Mr S' wrap was the better looking wrap and most likely the better tasting one.  I based this on the fact that Mr S finished his wrap.

With my first (and only preferred) option taken, I made do with the Thai curry chicken wrap.  My foodie instinct told me that this was a wrong choice - and I knew it.  But there wasn't anything else remotely nice left.  To be fair, the individual components of the wrap were okay, but when put together, it was rather ick.  My main beef with the wrap was the coagulated, mass produced 'curry' sauce.  It ain't curry and it ain't sauce. It was some gooey emulsion from a big vat.  Because of that 'sauce', it made everything unappetizing.  

The good points were that there was lots of chicken (albeit bland), quite a reasonable amount of rocket and spinach inside and the roti was thin.  However, the whole was not greater than the sum of its parts.  I didn't finish this, and just picked out some of the chicken.

Verdict

Food – 6

Service – 6.5

Ambiance – 7

Price – 6.5

Overall

Quite disappointed with the food at Cafenatics.  I was hoping that I could at least get the healthy and filling salads that they have via their online catering service (where the food comes from these cafes themselves).  So it's a bit puzzling that if they can make the salads for catering within the CBD that they don't have them on sale in the cafes.

I'll continue to use their catering service but won't go back for the food in the cafes.

Address

Cafenatics

Red Cape Lane

QV

Melbourne 3000

Telephone: 9654 9096